Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Woodley

Birds were singing. That had to be a good sign.

Woodley’s eyes burned as he struggled to open them. How long had he been out? Not long enough if the pain radiating from his back was anything to go by. When he shifted on the bed, a large arm wrapped around his hips, keeping him still.

“ Don’t move too much. Your wound isn’t completely healed just yet, and I don’t want you to start bleeding again.”

Harris’s voice washed over him, sending warmth through his chilled body. When his vision finally cleared, he found himself in his bed at the rental, with Harris beside him. He was a sight for literally sore eyes.

“ Hey,” Woodley said, his voice cracked as he spoke.

“ Here, drink this,” Harris said, holding a straw to Woodley’s chapped lips. “Not too much at first.”

The cold water soothed his parched throat, but he was careful not to overdo it and choke. Once he was done, Woodley took stock of his aching body. He was still in the middle of healing. His lung was mostly healed, but his ribs, muscles, and skin were still pretty raw. That’s when he noticed a slight difference in the typical way he healed.

“ Something's different about how I’m healing,” Woodley stated. “What happened?”

“ We had a little help,” Harris said. “Or should I say a ton of help?”

“ Mrs. Greer?”

It would make sense, considering her ability to heal injuries. After all, she’d saved Stryker’s life when he’d been shot rescuing John.

“ No, someone else got here first,” Harris said with a sexy grin. Woodley was happy and relieved to see it again. Then what he’d said registered with Woodley.

“ Someone else? Who? I don’t know anyone else with that ability,” Woodley said, unsure if he’d heard him right.

“ Her name is Renee, and she’s a survivor like us but from Apollo’s team. She has the same mutations as Mrs. Greer, so she helped speed along your healing ability. Mrs. Greer and the others arrived afterward, but we were in a hurry, and Apollo reached out to help.”

“ How did Apollo know anything happened?” Woodley didn’t think Brick would allow for outside help.

“ He could sense Conor’s concern and your injuries. Turns out the big dude can keep track of all survivors he comes in contact with.”

“ That’s impressive and a bit concerning. If Apollo can track us, are we ever safe?” Woodley asked.

“ You’re right. I’m also worried, but we should be fine as long as Apollo stays on the right side of this fight against the Noah Group.”

“ Considering he used his ability to help me, I’d say he’s on the right side, at least at the moment. Let’s hope it stays that way, or we could be screwed.” The big dude had more abilities than they knew about. Abilities that caused the Noah Group to keep him hidden and tell his parents he’d died at birth. Worried about what may come was just the tip of the iceberg.

“ True,” Harris agreed. “How are you feeling?”

“ Considering I was shot in the back, pretty good for a person who should be dead. I still have a bit of healing to do, but I’m out of the woods.”

Woodley hadn’t honestly known when he threw himself in front of the window whether his mutation was strong enough to heal a wound that severe. Now, though, he was fairly sure he would’ve been able to heal himself, but the extra help was appreciated, and sped things along.

“ Good. You scared the hell out of me. Next time you decide to be a hero, give me a heads-up, ’k?”

“ You were scared?” He had to be kidding. Harris didn’t do emotions. Even fear seemed to be outlawed in his physical and mental makeup.

“ Of course I was,” Harris said. “I care about you. Hell, you should know that much by now.”

Woodley studied Harris in confusion. “Should I?”

“ Look, Liam,” Harris said as he glanced away.

“ Liam? You never use my first name,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

“ Nothing’s wrong. I’ve finally come to my senses.”

“ Okay, I’m sore and still healing, so either get to the point or stop confusing the shit out of me.”

“ I was confused for a very long time. I believed that my past made it impossible to have a future, but you changed that.”

“ I did?”

“ Yes. It’s all your fault.”

“ Are you sure I didn’t smash my head on something? I think I could have a concussion.” He might be hallucinating.

Harris grinned even wider, sexy bastard, and cupped Woodley’s jaw. Harris’s calloused hand felt amazing against his skin and almost distracted him from their strange conversation.

“ I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m finally seeing clearly now. Even if you might not agree with me, I’m willing to wait until you figure it out in time.”

“ How kind of you. Figure what out exactly?” Woodley asked. Yep, he was definitely hallucinating.

“ That we’re perfect for each other and no one but you will do for me. Let’s face it, there’s not a single person who’d have a hope in hell of understanding us and our hang-ups.”

“ Sorry, but that’s no reason to be together, just because no one else will want us.” Was it? And if it was, how sad is that?

“ It’s not only that. Cut me a break. It’s not like I have any experience with this shit. I’m doing my best here,” Harris said as he ran his fingers through his short, dark hair. “This is also strange for me; it’s not like I know what the hell I’m doing.”

“ Wait, is this some kind of epiphany because I was shot?” Things were becoming clearer.

“ I don’t think epiphany is the right word. More of a punch to the gut.”

“ Nice analogy.”

“ You don’t get flowery words with me.”

“ No truer words have been spoken.”

“ Fine, let’s cut to the chase. I want you in my life permanently.”

“ Holy shit. Am I dead?” Woodley asked as he checked his pulse.

Harris rolled his eyes and let out a loud, drawn-out moan. He’d never seen the guy frustrated before. He liked this new side of the man. Made him more real somehow.

“ Don’t push it. Is it always going to be this hard talking about real shit with you?”

“ Likely,” Woodley said with a grin. “But I’m worth it.”

Harris’s eyes got impossibly darker as he ran his thumb over Woodley’s bottom lip. “Yes, you are.”

He moved to wrap his arm around Harris, but the motion had him hissing in pain.

“ Easy, there’s plenty of time.”

“ Why? Are you not planning on sacrificing yourself to the Noah Group?”

Why plan a future if the guy was going to throw himself to the wolves?

“ You done throwing yourself in front of bullets?”

“ Touche. I’ll try to control the urge, but you know Brick wouldn’t have been able to survive that shot. What other choice did I have? The team and this crazy-ass mission would’ve been irreparably scuttled. We can’t afford to lose anyone in this fight, especially not a leader like him.”

“ Yeah, I get it. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll try to stop putting myself in danger if you do, but with the caveat that it doesn’t count if it’s in the line of duty,” Harris said.

“ Sounds fair. I’m unsure if I can change gears as quickly as you have. Let’s see where this goes,” Woodley said, still having reservations about this sudden shift. “It’s not like we’re getting married or something. A trial run couldn’t hurt.”

“ I’ll take it.”

“ You are aware that relationships fostered due to a traumatic event have over an eighty percent chance of failure?” Facts were facts, and they weren’t in their favor. When had they ever been?

“ Still leaves a twenty percent chance.”

“ You’ve lost your damned mind.”

“ It’s possible.”

“ We’re doomed.”

“ Way to stay positive.”

“ I still have a hole in my back.”

“ Point taken. Rest for now. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Woodley took him at his word and let his tired eyes close. He’d had his fill of revelations for the time being. For now, he needed rest in order to heal fully. Until then, he was useless to the team and didn’t want to be in that position for long.

He’d give Harris a couple of days to rethink things and change his mind because this one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn could easily hit a dead end, leaving him high and dry once again. He wasn’t a fool, and as a detective, logic always won out, so he’d wait and see if Harris’s epiphany faded as quickly as it arrived.

That would suck, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

He lived in a world full of harsh realities and even harsher outcomes.

Fairy tales were only that, tales.